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2021 California Winter Storm (Winter Storm Harold)
The California Winter Storm was a storm that developed in the bay of Alaska from mid-late January. It caused widespread snowfall to areas that didn't expect at all. Many snowfall records were broken. This was a very cold surface level low, bringing freezing temperatures to much of Southern California, the Central Valley, and the San Francisco Area, places that rarely receive freezing temperatures, got them for up to days at a time. This event arrived on the 3rd, and since it was a slow moving system, it didn't move out until the 10th. Analysis On the early morning of the 3rd, the fir st bands of precipitation arrived on Northern California. Prior to the event, above average temperatures were present in the majority of California. As the system arrived, the temperatures quickly plummeted. San Francisco fell to 48F just short of 3 PM from 57F at 8 AM. At this time, all the precipitation in the low elevations was rain. On the evening of the 3rd, the first flakes started falling in San Jose, and Oakland. Over the next hours, the snow turned heavier in the San Jose Area. San Francisco's rain quickly turned to ice by midnight. By noon of the 4th, 11" of snow had accumulated in San Jose, while 4" in San Francisco. Sacramento had received some flurries up to this point, but very minimal accumulation had occurred. By the time it had stop snowing in Sacramento, 4" had fallen, the largest snowfall in 40 years. Over the next few days, the storm grew stronger and went to Southern California. Behind the storm, a lot of the snow that had fallen had stayed there, as temperatures at night were in the low-mid 20's inland, and near 30 at the coast. On the 7th, it had moved into Southern and Central California. Just in the 1st 12 hours it started snowing, 7" of snow had fallen in Bakersfield and Fresno. The first flakes started falling on the evening of the 7th in Downtown Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. Burbank received brief hail and sleet that quickly turned to snow over the next hour or two. In Southern California, a high pressure system in Northern Mexico prevented the system to go anymore south, which made for extra accumulation. On the 7th, Downtown Los Angeles had received 1.2" of snow, the 2nd largest snowfall recorded in 24 hours. Heavier snow fell on the 8th, with another 3.3" of snow falling in D.T.L.A. Over a foot fell in Riverside, San Bernardino, Glendale, Burbank, and other colder locations. Temperatures during this time were in the low 30's and high 20's. On the afternoon of the 8th, snow was falling in San Diego. Very heavy snow caused San Diego to receive 5" of snow. San Diego recorded a high of only 44F on the 8th, while in Downtown Los Angeles it was 41F. Over 7" of snow fell in Joshua Tree National Park. During this event, a lot of mountainous locations, like Big Bear, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, and other areas received 5-15 feet during this time. On the morning of the 9th, 62% of California had snow cover. Dense fog on the 7th and 8th in Southern California caused a 125 car pileup in Oceanside, in San Diego County. Thick ice fog continued to form in Central Valley and the San Francisco bay. Aftermath This event caused $2 billion in crop failiures, as below freezing temperatures were destroying crops. Many car pile-ups also occurred throughout this winter event as Ice Fog formed, and as the snow was heavy. The Winter Storm moved briefly to Arizona and Nevada, producing just 0.3" of snow in Las Vegas before dissipating. In total 37 people died, and 104 were injured during event. The extensive snow melt after the storm also caused problems. Many areas in the Los Angeles Basin and Central Valley reported severe flooding along rivers. This was by far, the largest Winter Storm to occur in California. Category:Winter Storms Category:Hypothetical Events Category:Hypothetical Disasters Category:Hypothetical Winter Storms